Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Egypt: The Role of External Actors

Year 2020, Volume: 7 Issue: 1, 169 - 202, 30.06.2020

Ayfer Erdogan

https://doi.org/10.26513/tocd.631924

Cited By: 1

Abstract

In 2013, Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi,
was overthrown by a military coup. Since then, the country has undergone serious
setbacks in terms of democracy, individual freedoms and social justice. Egypt’s
failed revolution and the military coup in Egypt could not be thought
independent from the role of external actors either directly or indirectly
involved in this process. Despite their political rhetoric emphasizing
democracy promotion and political reforms, both the US and the EU failed to
pursue consistent and contributory policies in promoting democratic transition
in Egypt in the fear that the electoral victory of Islamist groups would harm
their interests in the region. On the other hand, the Gulf monarchies played a
pivotal role in the entrenchment of the military rule by providing financial
and political support to the military-backed government as a shield against the
democratically elected regime in Egypt. This article investigates how the
policies adopted by Egypt’s key allies, the European Union, the United States
and the Gulf Monarchies, in the face of the January 25 revolution and 2013
military coup impacted the trajectory of Egypt’s political transition. The main
thesis of the article is that the policies pursued by the external actors created
a political environment unconducive to democratic change in Egypt. 

Keywords

Egypt, external actors, political transition, authoritarianism, military regime

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